To Two, Too

“The hallmark of excellence, the test of greatness, is consistency.”

– Jim Tressell

To say it was unexpected is an understatement. Possibly no one said it better than Nikola Jokic himself, sitting in front of a small stable while in a conversation with TNT’s Ernie Johnson…

Johnson: Did you always consider yourself a long-shot?

Jokic: If it’s not me, who is it? There’s no way I could come to the NBA. No way I could come from this tiny city and play basketball. From this stable, basically. Now I’m playing in the best league in the world, and playing at a high level. It’s remarkable just for me to get to be in the NBA, and for us to do what we did as the Denver Nuggets, I think it’s historic.

What an interesting character. Johnson sets him up to say, I’m the best. I’m the greatest. Jokic, of course, isn’t interested in that topic. He starts down the path of speaking to the odds against him, but then defers to saying he’s playing at a “high level” and is only a part of a team. The best player in the world, in his moment to shine, still deflects the light to other places. But that is only a part of the additions that make him Most Valuable.

When others who are not thrilled with this year’s MVP decision have spoken of Jokic being a paper tiger, a data-driven MVP, an unglamorous stats god. They tend to ignore that the reasons they hang their hat on their favorite candidate also tend to make Jokic look pretty special as well… Unless your MVP criteria demand that the candidate can actually jump.

It really does border on miraculous, seeing someone who was such an afterthought become the preeminent player in the league. As one of a very few back-to-back MVP winners, Jokic’s draft position is somewhat shocking in comparison to the others:

Amazing, no? There aren’t even picks outside the top ten, until you get to Nash and Antetokounmpo. As a matter of fact, if you add up all the picks through Nash (40), you’re still not as high as Jokic (41). Every other center on that list was drafted 1, 2, or 3, save Malone, who is tough to measure, as he went to the ABA in the third round in 1974, straight out of high school, the year before the first NBA player to ever do so. 41st pick Jokic almost didn’t go to the NBA, save a crappy performance making a Euro team pass on him. Almost didn’t go back to basketball in his teens, as he was “too busy at the stables”. A two-time MVP out of a city the size of Littleton, only 5600 miles further away.

Well, those are just the back-to-back MVPs, right? There must be several more who have won a couple, just not in a row, right? Hacking at it that way only adds two names to the list, Bob Pettit and Karl Malone. Pettit was a #2 pick, and Malone was chosen at 13.

Even a little more mind-blowing, no? Think of the names that weren’t lumped in there. Jokic made a joke about it with Johnson – and then quickly clarified it as such, that even the mighty Shaquille O’Neal is not a two-time MVP. When you start to go through the list of names that were one-timers… Shaq, Charles Barkley, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Durant, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Julius Erving, Bill Walton, Oscar Robertson, and so many more. An incredible list that Jokic has surpassed in at least one small way. A group of guys that is all on the 75 at 75 list for the NBA… a list that this two-time MVP isn’t on, but gets to admire the logo etched in his newest award.

You could see the emotion on Jokic’s face when he pulled into the stable to see what was happening. His people, in his place, there to cheer him on, and honor the things that mean the most to him. Home. Loyalty. Honesty. Togetherness. And of course, some humor. You can tell in the hugs that Jokic shares with those up and down the organizational ladder, the kiss that Michael Malone plants firmly on his cheek, that this relationship’s value isn’t just about what the Joker puts on the floor. It’s the legacy his head and heart are leaving behind for us all who have become fans of one of the most humble guys to ever step on the floor.

Surprise in Sombor✈️?? We flew to Serbia to surprise the BACK-TO-BACK MVP! And, wow, this moment was special. pic.twitter.com/aFvIEDgnSj

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) May 11, 2022

If you think that Nikola Jokic is a data-driven dud of an MVP, here’s the only data that ended up mattering this season. When a cross-section of well-qualified voters from across the country made their choice as to who was most valuable, almost two-thirds agreed it was the Joker. The stable boy from Sombor, Serbia is somehow now the recipient of two, too. Two MVP awards. Will he win a third? He doesn’t really care. Best PER ever? Stats like 2000-1000-500? As far as he’s concerned, so what? He’s worried about one thing. The hardware he really wants is still not on his finger, and he has not shared it with the team he truly loves. He cares about winning, he cares about happiness, he cares about team.

The goals Jokic is always directing his focus towards is truly what makes him most valuable.